Starting from his days as a youngster in recreation to playing for White Oak High School, Louisburg College or in the major leagues, or even coaching the sport, Fonville has enjoyed being on the diamond.

“Baseball has been good to me and I respect the game so much,” he said. “Baseball was my first love growing up. I always wanted to play baseball from day one. That was a dream of mine and I just played it 24-7. That’s what I wanted to do and I worked real hard at it.

“I was blessed with some talent and my family supported me. I accomplished what I wanted to do from day one. I made it to the show.”

Fonville didn’t just make it into Major League Baseball, he spent five seasons in the big leagues, most notably with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1995-98.

And because of his playing efforts through the ranks, as well as his contributions now as an area high school coach, Fonville will be inducted into the Jacksonville-Onslow Sports Commission Hall of Fame.

The 42-year-old Fonville will join former Lejeune and Northside athletic director Mike Smith into induction tonight in a ceremony at the Jacksonville Country Club.

“It’s an honor because growing up as a little kid, you wanted to play sports and make a hall of fame,” Fonville said. “I didn’t make it into Cooperstown (for baseball’s hall of fame), but this is like Cooperstown to me. My time has come.”

Fonville hit .244 during his five seasons as a utility player for four MLB teams. His best season came in 1995 when he hit .276 and stole 20 bases to help the Dodgers win the National League West division title. One year later, Fonville appeared in 103 games and hit .204 for the Dodgers.

Fonville, who primarily played second base, played his final big league game on July 9, 1999 while with the Boston Red Sox.

Fonville still follows baseball today.

“Once in a while I watch the Red Sox and Dodgers and I read the paper to see if any guys I played with are still playing,” he said. “It (the game) is still the same. The only things that have changed are the contracts.”

Now Fonville uses his playing experience to help coach Lejeune’s team. He’s also helped coach White Oak and has helped coach basketball at Lejeune.

Fonville, who works for the Special Education Department at Lejeune High, has been a high school coach since he returned to Jacksonville in 2006.

“Number one, Chad had a great professional career and he’s one of a few people from the area to say they made the major leagues and played for an extended number of years,” said Lejeune baseball coach Doug Erny, a longtime friend of Fonville. “The fact he’s come back to town and has never forgotten where he came from…, he constantly gives back to people in this area.”

Page 2 of 3 - Fonville first made a name for himself while playing multiple sports at White Oak from 1988-90.

He was an all-conference baseball, basketball and soccer player for the Vikings, helping the soccer team to a state title in 1989.

“A lot of people didn’t know I played basketball and soccer,” Fonville said.

But while he stood out in all three sports, baseball remained his passion. He continued the sport at Louisburg College, a two-year school, before being drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1992.

He remained with the Giants’ minor league system for two years before landing with the Montreal Expos. He made his major league debut with the Expos on April 28, 1995 and appeared in 14 games that season.

Then he got picked up by the Dodgers and helped them reach the playoffs after he played in 88 games with the club.

“I always try to tell these kids that you never know who's watching you,” Fonville said. “I just had a good work ethic and L.A. was watching and gave me a shot. That was special. Playing with guys I had watched on TV, that time in my life is very special.”

Fonville was then traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1998 before finishing his MLB career in Boston in 1999. He played a few more years in the minors before ending his playing career.

“My body was changing and I was getting older,” Fonville said. “I was just playing for the love of the game. I just played until I couldn’t play and that was it.”

And throughout his career, Fonville always had a fan in Erny, who helped coached Fonville in middle school.

“I couldn’t wait to get the newspaper to see his name in the box score,” said Erny, who has known Fonville since he was in elementary school. “One of my favorite moments came when he broke in with the Expos. They played the Cubs and he ended up getting three hits in his first game in the majors.”

But while Fonville is proud of his MLB career, he said the thing that stands out the most in his professional life is his work now.

“What I’m doing now is very important to me. Now I have the opportunity to coach,” Fonville said. “I want to help kids and I want to see people do really good.”

After coming back home in 2006, Fonville spent three years on the Lejeune coaching staff before working as an assistant baseball coach at White Oak for two years. He then went back to help coach at Lejeune.

“I just fell in love with it (working at Lejeune) and I fell in love with the kids,” Fonville said. “I have been doing it ever since.”

Page 3 of 3 - Overall, Fonville just wants to be a role model for his 5-year-old daughter and to all the children he teaches and coaches.

“I just want to be a good father and raise my kid and I want to be a good person,” he said. “I like doing what I can around the community.”